Her Lessons in Love
by Fivercon
Summary: Lucy once again has problems and this time, it does not include her rent. She is potentially in love with a boy who has no clue about her feelings. What’s worse, he probably doesn't even know what love means. NatsuxLucy. Sequel to Growing Up .
1. Sing Me to Sleep

_It is impossible to love and be wise- Francis Bacon_

* * *

**One: Sing Me to Sleep**

Lucy Heartphilia's stomach did a flip.

Then a somersault.

Then it did a complete 360 rotation several times, which her heart thought was appropriate and soon did the same.

In short, Lucy felt sick.

"Natsu, I wish-"

"Woooohhoooooo!!!"

"Natsu, hey-"

"Yeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!"

"Can you just-"

"YAHOOOHOOOOHOOOO!"

"Damnit, you idiot, knock it off!!"

The fire dragonslayer heard the insult and cartwheeled off the flaming platform he currently stood on much to the chagrin of the fire dancer who was chucking fireballs at the mage. Natsu landed on the ground and glared at Gray before cracking his knuckles- a sign that always did not bode well for a peaceful afternoon. "What'd you say, Gray?"

As Gray was about to respond with an ice fist to Natsu's insolent face, Erza interjected. "You guys, stop messing around. We've got to get back to Fairy Tail today. I won't tolerate tardiness even if it is from our group." Effective as always, Erza's authority settled the boys and the group began walking once more with Happy leading the way.

The teammates headed out of the beautiful city of Mordania and its spectacular cultural festivities with the mission completed and pockets full of the hard-earned jewels. Although the city was quite hospitable and lively, the Fairy Tail mages eagerly awaited the comfort of their guild. They walked out of the city's gates with lighthearted steps and thoughts toward returning home to Magnolia.

Lucy, on the other hand, lagged behind her teammates with hands clutched before her heart. Despite the 75,000 jewels currently in her possession (meaning she wouldn't have to be homeless for at least the next couple of months), Lucy gave a depressed sigh as she saw Natsu once again pick a fight with Gray- this time, it seemed like it was only going to be a verbal affair.

The blonde tried to forget the fact that only seconds ago, Natsu had been engulfed in roaring flames, twisting about the dancer's intricate body movements and sensual use of fire, but she couldn't.

For some reason, she missed the part where Natsu haphazardly gobbled up any fire thrown his way in a very childish manner; his only interest being to get in an extra meal before dinner.

Lucy glanced back at the girl, who was (in Lucy's opinion), thin as a toothpick and wore way too much makeup. What was up with that silky see-through top and slit up to the thigh? And red was so last season.

"What a slu-" Finding herself suddenly smacked against Natsu's back, she stopped mid-insult. "Wha-what is it? Why'd you stop so suddenly?"

Strangely enough, Lucy had also missed the fact that Erza and Gray had stopped walking as well. There was tension in the air that completely flew over our favorite stellar spirit mage's head. You'll have to forgive her lack of awareness for she was a little too preoccupied being so close to the boy she deeply cared for.

Suddenly, a shimmering blue mist rained on the party from above. Erza immediately countered it with a strong gust of wind from her sword. Gray, likewise, had built a shelter out of ice to keep the unknown substance from harming him.

"Guys, get under here, quick!" Happy yelled as he flew next to Gray.

Natsu scoffed but ran over anyways with Lucy right on his heels. As they passed under a tree, a large amount of the mist poured down on the two. Lucy, finally noticing danger, quickly shot out both arms and pushed Natsu out from under the tree just as the shower of mist closed in around her. She saw Natsu stumble but regain his balance as he whipped around seeing her trapped under the tree.

"LUCY!!"

Her eyes felt heavy; she strained to keep them open longer just to see Natsu's face on the other side of the curtain of mist, but it proved too much for her. Lucy sank down to the ground losing consciousness, but feeling relief that Natsu was out of harm's way.

* * *

"Wow, talk about dramatic."

"We overreacted to nothing."

"Did you see Lucy? She acted like we were about to die!"

"Well, I thought it was very brave of her. We didn't know what that substance was. It could have been acidic and melted right through our skulls."

"Brave sure, but it was hilarious."

Lucy stirred as she heard her name. She cracked open an eye to find the vision before her bouncing along.

"You awake, Luce?"

Hearing Natsu's voice, Lucy's senses cleared instantly. "What?"

Erza, Gray and Happy's faces suddenly bobbed into her field of vision. "Hey there, superwoman. You fell asleep."

Lucy cocked up her head and realized she was riding on Natsu's back. Seeing as how the whole group's attention was on her, Lucy tried desperately to keep the ferocious blush on her cheeks as inconspicuous as possible.

"Aw, Lucy, do you have a fever? You're turning all red!" Happy asked worriedly as he flew over and put a tiny blue paw on her forehead. So much for being inconspicuous.

"Ye-yeah, I think so," Lucy muttered as she sank down. She almost buried her face into Natsu's shoulder but found that doing so might really make her feverish and that was the last thing she needed.

"It doesn't hurt to be cautious though. The affects of that mist could have been dangerous to outsiders," Erza stated. "After all, only the villagers are used to the blue bird's mist seeing as how they utilize it for their daily resting periods."

As Erza continued her analysis on what strange creatures inhabited the vicinity, Lucy knitted her eyebrows in concentration in an attempt to get the story straight. When the girl finally understood what had happened, she had to refrain from slapping herself on the forehead for being such a dolt.

To put it in the nutshell, Lucy had overreacted to just an everyday occurrence that was caused by friendly birds—albeit friendly _stupid_ birds that made it their _stupid_ solemn duty to put the villagers to sleep so they could catch some _stupid_ forty-winks. What the hell.

Lucy decided from that point on that she didn't like birds.

"Don't worry, Lucy," Natsu held onto her tighter and picked up his pace. "We'll get you home soon so you can get better! No problem!"

Little did he know that his small act of kindness only made Lucy's condition worsen.

* * *

A/N: Get ready for some crazy predicaments in adolescent love, Lucy. And good luck!

There will be plenty of need for it because there is one sadistic author pulling the strings this time around ;)


	2. Pangs of Love

**Two: Pangs of Love**

* * *

Lucy drew her comforter about her and tried to ignore the fact that Natsu was clinking about in her kitchen.

No biggie, Natsu had been in her apartment plenty of times before. What was so special about this time?

Perhaps it was because Natsu had kindly offered to take care of her since he was under the impression that she was sick. Or it could be that she had recently realized that her feelings for the dragonslayer were more than platonic. Or it could just be the fact that Natsu was attempting to cook.

Whatever the reason was, Lucy huddled underneath her covers telling herself over and over again to be calm.

Calm, calm, calm.

"Lucy!"

The girl threw aside her blankets at once and shot up at the sound of Natsu's voice, the picture of anything but tranquility. "Yes?"

"Where do you keep your mugs?"

"On the top left shelf, next to the spices."

"Okay, got 'em."

Lucy watched Natsu fumble around with the kettle as if it was a complicated contraption. Instead of being exasperated by his inexperience with kitchenware though, Lucy found him endearing and hopelessly adorable. How could the tough Salamander be in her kitchen, sweetly brewing tea for her and not out in the world taking down monsters and beating up the bad guys?

After several more minutes during which Lucy's thoughts had wandered from Natsu's strength to something more along the lines of how toned his biceps, triceps and other groups of muscles were, the dragonslayer finally turned around and headed toward her with a steaming mug cupped carefully in his hands.

"Here ya go, Luce. Drink up."

Lucy reached out and took the mug from him gratefully. She was aware that she was blushing but she didn't care- especially since Natsu stood before her smiling proudly at having "cooked" something and being so oblivious to her romantic feelings anyway.

Actually, that last thought was a little depressing.

Lucy's smile slipped from her face as she brought the mug to her lips. She ignored the sinking feeling in her stomach and decided to enjoy Natsu's tea for as long as she could. Taking a sip of what she thought would be perfectly brewed green tea, she was horrified to find that it most certainly wasn't. In fact, it wasn't tea at all.

"Agghhhh!!!" Lucy sputtered and spat out whatever concoction Natsu had put together. She held the mug at arm's length before bringing it closer to examine what was inside. "N-Natsu...what is this?" She looked at the brownish gloop and shuddered.

"What?" Natsu asked as he looked into the mug as well. "It's frog skins and orange rinds."

"What?!"

"Yeah, it's medicine," Natsu stated as he sat down on the bed next to Lucy. "Igneel use to make that stuff for me all the time."

"I thought you were making _tea_!" Lucy cried feeling the frog skin and orange rind juice about to regurgitate.

"Come on, don't be a baby," Natsu said in all superiority as if Lucy was overreacting.

"But I'm not sick!"

"Really?" Natsu furrowed his brows before leaning closer and looking at her. Before she could back away, Natsu put a hand on her forehead.

Her heart raced as Natsu pulled away and felt his own forehead comparing their temperatures. But then the romantic and tender gesture was promptly ruined as the dragonslayer repeated the same action over and over again as if he were swatting flies on their foreheads.

"I don't know, you seem to be burning up to me."

Maybe he was right. Maybe she was burning up- burning up with intense, heated, passio-

"Finish your medicine. It's getting cold."

And they were back at the disgusting juice. Lucy looked back into the mug and really couldn't bring herself to drink the stuff. It was revolting and bubbling and- was...was that a fish head she saw?!

"Please, Lucy."

The blonde looked over at her teammate and felt her stomach drop. She hated when he got all serious because she would go weak at the knees and would give in to anything. In this case, it'd be giving in to downing frog skins, orange rinds and apparently fish heads. Not exactly the love potion the girl had in mind.

"Cheers," Lucy toasted to Natsu before she drank the entire thing.

The girl found that she could deal with the bitter taste, the horrid stench, the fact that her head was spinning and just feeling plain awful as long as Natsu sat beside her happily smiling.

"See? Not so bad is it, Luce?"

"N-nope, not at all."

* * *

Later that night, Lucy hugged the toilet bowl and retched again and again. Each time, she vowed never to consume anything that Natsu made ever again.

"Lucy, are you okay?" Natsu asked gingerly as Lucy ducked in the bowl once more. He felt utterly abysmal seeing Lucy suffer on the account of his medicine. The only thing he could do now was to stand behind the poor girl and hold back her hair.

Lucy fell back to the floor gasping for air. She wiped the cold sweat off her face and turned around feeling slightly better since she had thrown up what seemed to have been anything and everything she'd consume in the last 48 hours. "Terrific."

How crazy could she have been to listen to Natsu about nutrition? He's the guy who would drink firewhiskey by the gallon and eat nothing but meat for days and call it healthy.

Lucy felt her hair fall back around her shoulders as Natsu moved to her side. She turned to him and saw that he had donned the puppy dog face. Probably not on purpose since Lucy was sure he couldn't fake emotion if his life depended on it. As usual, Lucy took one look into his depressed face and had a change of heart.

Natsu didn't even need to apologize- the guilty look on his face made Lucy forget her anger and want to kiss him on the nose for trying so hard for her sake. "It's okay, Natsu. I-!"

Feeling another bout come up, Lucy lunged forward and grab the sides of the toilet again.

"Lucy, I'm so, so, _so_, sorry!" Natsu clasped his hands together and bowed. Lucy tried to wave him aside but it was useless. "I'll never ever make you anything ever again! I swear!" The boy lowered his head to the floor not caring if Lucy heard him or not.

As Lucy finally came up, Natsu winced as he saw her pale face and haggard look. She took deep breaths and closed her eyes as if willing her stomach to cooperate and settle down. Then she leaned on the toilet seat over a slumped arm not saying a single word.

"What've I done?!" Natsu wailed as he straightened up on his knees ready to catch Lucy if she slipped. "I'm gonna have to go call the doctor. Yes, doctor! Or whaddyou call them...herbalists- yeah, those people should know what to do!" The boy stood and gently lifted Lucy from her position. He set her against the wall next to the bathtub before grabbing a blanket and wrapping it around her so that she slightly resembled a mummy. "Lucy, don't die, okay?!"

Die? What if Lucy did...?

The dragonslayer shook the thought from the his mind as he prepared to leave but as he turned, he felt a tug on his pants. Looking down, he saw his friend had opened her eyes and looked up at him wearily.

"Don't go, Natsu...," She croaked in raspy voice. "I'm fine. Just tired."

An immense relief washed over him as he saw Lucy smile slightly. "Y-you sure?"

Lucy mumbled something before letting go of him and closing her eyes. Natsu took that as an affirmative and immediately sat down next to her. He was wracked with guilt as he saw beads of sweat on her face. Determined to sit next to her all night and keep her company on the bathroom floor, Natsu was about to reach for a towel when Lucy leaned against his shoulder.

"What is it? You need something?"

He looked down to see if she could at least communicate with a look but found that she was fast asleep. A smile crept onto his own weary face as he reached up a hand and awkwardly patted her on the head.

"I gotcha, Luce. I gotcha." Natsu leaned her body against his chest hoping to keep the girl warm through the night. Doing that should be simple enough-even he couldn't botch that up.

He soon matched her steady breathing and felt rather comfortable despite the fact that they sat on the cold tiled floor. In a little bit of time, both the dragonslayer and the stellar spirit mage were fast asleep dreaming of things not concerning toilet bowls and frog skins.

* * *

A/N: If the latest extra chapter doesn't make NatsuxLucy canon, I don't know what will!! 8D

Check it out at onemangaDOTcom if you haven't already- it's under Fairy Tail. Keep those extra chapters coming, Hiro Mashima-- they are golden!


	3. A Bewitching Visit

**Three: A Bewitching Visit  
**

* * *

Being sick wasn't the same as being dead. Obviously.

But Lucy couldn't shake the feeling as though she had passed on and was currently in some supernatural limbo-type place where monsters, ghosts and other worldly creatures lurked.

What made it even worse was that she clearly wasn't in such a place because she was getting this spooky feeling inside her own apartment.

Her erratic heartbeat hammered inside her chest as Lucy scrunched up like a ball under her covers. She willed her bravery to overcome her fear but it wasn't working. Lucy kept telling herself that she was a mage! A Fairy Tail mage for that matter, so why was she such a chicken?!

To be fair, she did usually go up against the bad guys and monsters in broad daylight. Taking on creepy creatures at night alone was most definitely far worse.

Wait, she didn't have to be alone! She had her stellar spirits of course! Now it was only a matter of reaching for her keys to summon them.

Suddenly, she felt pressure on either side of her. Lucy felt her mattress sag with the added weight and thought that her heart was sinking along with it. What was this thing in her room?! Did it threaten to kill her? Slit her throat? Suck her blood? Take advantage of her virgin body and silence her afterwards?

Lucy couldn't bring herself to move and only managed to squeeze shut her eyes. Perhaps she was just dreaming and if she tried hard enough, she'd just wake up. Wake up, Lucy! Wake up! Wake up, wake up, wake up!

"Lucy?"

The girl instantly opened her eyes.

"Hey, you okay?"

This voice sounded familiar. Way too familiar and especially distinctive to Lucy. She slowly pulled down her covers to find a pair of dark eyes hovering over her.

"NATSU??!!" Lucy screeched into the night as she backed out from underneath him to reach the lamp on her headboard. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

"Sorry, Luce...," Natsu said guiltily as he saw Lucy's pale face livid with anger. "I just wanted to check up on you. I didn't scare you, did I?"

The blonde took one look at Natsu and felt her anger dissipate, but was then angry at herself for feeling that way. He'd scare the living daylights out of her- she should be enraged but she wasn't?!

How ridiculous was she??!!

Instead of answering Natsu's question, Lucy grabbed her pillow and buried her face into it. She let out a muffled scream and just sat there next to the bewildered boy.

"I _did _scare you, didn't I?" Lucy heard Natsu say softly before she felt him wrap his arms around her. "You're shaking."

Little did the dragonslayer know that she was not trembling because she was scared but because he was so close.

Lucy only hugged the pillow tighter as Natsu pulled her closer, enveloping her in his body heat. "I'm sorry, Lucy. I know you're still sick. I was just worried about you."

Hearing him say those words, Lucy slowly lifted her head from the safety of the pillow and look up. She thanked her stars that Natsu wasn't looking at her but was staring straight ahead. She didn't think she could handle it if he was looking directly at her.

"You worry too much...," Lucy mumbled as she rested her head against his shoulder, the heat making her dizzy.

Before Lucy could even enjoy the security of Natsu's shoulder, the room spun about her and Lucy found herself lying on her back with Natsu's hands on either side of her again.

"No, I don't worry enough! Look at you, you're still running a fever!" Natsu snapped, his eyes boring into hers. Within a few seconds, Lucy had to avert her gaze.

"W-what's with you?" She fixed her eyes on his arm and tentatively reached out to touch it. Whether it was because she was delirious or not, Lucy found herself saying, "It's because of _you _that I'm sick..."

There was silence as Lucy's words hung in the air. Did Natsu understand what she meant to say? Or did he think...?

Then, there was his answer. Lucy felt Natsu shift his weight before feeling a light feathery sensation on her lips.

When he pulled away, Lucy could see that he didn't look straight at her but to the corner of the room.

"...Natsu?"

"Of course I _know_, idiot."

"You..."

Lucy almost asked what it was he knew but held herself back. She had to give Natsu some credit. He wasn't such a dolt to not have figured out how she felt about him judging by that kiss.

That sweet, gentle, fleeting kiss. Who knew Natsu Dragonil could be so...so...

"Hey."

"Wha?" Lucy responded absentmindedly before Natsu turned off her lamp.

"Get some sleep, Lucy. I'm not going anywhere."

Lucy took one last look at his hunched over figure sitting by her side in the shadows of the room and shut her eyes. She smiled happily knowing that he sat next to her, always being there. The girl couldn't help but let out a breath of relief.

"Thanks, Natsu."

Even though it was dark, she could make out the smile in his voice. "For what?"

"For always being there."

This wasn't a dream.

And even if it there was any chance of that, she wished she'd keep on sleeping forever.

Don't wake up, Lucy...Don't wake up. Don't wake up, ever.

"Don't wake up, ever?! What do you mean, by _EVER_?!"

Lucy shot up and banged her head against someone else's. She barely had time to register the pain before feeling that person's lips smash against her nose for a moment before she collapsed back onto her pillow.

"Owwww...." Lucy groaned as she brought up a hand to her forehead and nose. "Wha...?" She finally managed to open her eyes to see Natsu's worried face.

"You're alive, Lucy! I knew you'd be!"

It took Lucy a good minute before she realized she _had _been dreaming. It took another excruciatingly painful minute for her to keep from crying that her kiss with Natsu hadn't occurred either. What she had to settle for, unfortunately, was an accidental lip press on the nose that was rather painful.

"What are you talking about, Natsu?" Lucy asked groggily. "Owww...I think you might have bit me on the nose..."

"Sorry, sorry!" Natsu grinned as he leaned in close to Lucy's face making sure that she was still alive. The girl pushed him back, blushing furiously. "I just came in a few minutes ago and found you sleeping."

"And you thought it'd be fun to wake me up?"

Natsu laughed, his boyish face breaking into that smile that made Lucy's heart do a slight jig despite her annoyance. "Well, Luce, I can honestly say I didn't do it on purpose and I am really happy that you're alive." Natsu plopped down next to her on the bed and put an arm around her shoulder, igniting Lucy's vivid memory of her dream.

Ignoring the ridiculousness of his statement, Lucy saw his white dragon-scale scarf falling across her knee and reached for it. The material felt surprisingly soft in her fingers and she found herself pulling it towards her.

"Eh?"

Natsu's face came closer to hers and Lucy could feel his breath tickle the skin on her neck. She closed her eyes and leaned in, his words ringing in her ears.

_"Of course I know, idiot."_

They were almost touching so that Lucy could feel Natsu's warmth throughout her body. She tilted her head back and gave one final tug on the scarf.

"So she _did _wake up! You were right, Natsu!!" A voice rang through her apartment, effectively interrupting Lucy's advancement. Happy zipped through the air and hovered in front of Lucy before landing on her lap and hugging her around the middle. "We were afraid you were going to sleep forever!!"

"W-wha...Happy!" Lucy stuttered as she felt her face burn hotly. She patted the cat's head awkwardly, finding it absolutely mind-blowing that she had just initiated a kiss.

A kiss with _Natsu_, nonetheless.

Somebody, please do something about this sickness in body and love!

"See? I told you she'd wake up!" Natsu grinned, completely unfazed and oblivious to what just occurred between him and the blushing girl.

Lucy recovered herself as much as she could and scratched Happy behind the ear. "Don't you worry, Happy. You saved me from a nightmare."

* * *

A/N: FT has gotten me back into Livejournal after a three year absence, _what_? The things NaLu does for me. Oh, by the way, I've read some comments advocating a friendship theory for the "Fateful Encounter" chapter...yeah, no. If you take a close look at the card Kana is holding up (the one with the heart), you will see the silhouettes of a boy and a girl. Under a heart. How many ways are there to interpret that?

Overreaching-- it's what I do in a series where love takes the backseat.


	4. Don't Go There

**Four: Don't Go There**

* * *

"Lucy, you look terrible."

The sickly stellar spirit mage could only nod grimly in Gray's direction. Lucy knew she looked like a mess having been bedridden for the past four days, but that just couldn't be helped. She was just thankful that she was now strong enough to get up and walk around.

"That's tactful, Gray," Erza said making the ice alchemist flinch as she came up to their table and sat down beside them. "Lucy, I'm glad to see you. I take it you're feeling better?"

"Yeah, thanks." Lucy managed a smile as she pulled her jacket around her.

"I thought you'd be in good hands after Natsu offered to take care you. It just seems like you got worse and worse though, doesn't it?"

Lucy laughed lamely thinking it'd be better not to tell Erza that it was _because _of Natsu that she had actually gotten sick.

"Where is Natsu, by the way?" Erza asked as she looked around the guild.

The blonde shrugged but also gave a quick look as well, hoping to find a glimpse of the dragonslayer's rosy-colored hair among the throng of mages.

"OOPS, HEADS UP!"

The three teammates jumped out of their seats as a beer keg came crashing down on their table, splattering the wooden top with foaming beer.

"What do you think you're doing, Kana?" Erza called to the drunk girl who was currently swinging from one of the chandeliers.

"Nothing, Erza. Relaaax! I'm just having my usual brunch. Three shots of tequila, a mimosa and four kegs of beer. Well, make that three since I lost that last one." Kana hiccuped and smiled down to the redhead.

"You'd better clean this up now."

"Naw, naw. After brunch. Hey, Mira! Another one!"

Even though Lucy felt ill, it was still easy for her detect the ominous waves rolling off of Erza. The whole guild felt the tension in the air and discreetly backed away from the brawl that was bound to occur.

"Lucy, I think you should leave," Gray mumbled out of the corner of his mouth as he nudged her toward the doors of the guild.

"Yeah, I think so too," Lucy nodded and weaved through the tables and chairs on her way to the exit. Sure enough, as she was out of the doors, there were yells, clanging of metal and a slight shaking of the ground.

A heap of dust fell from the roof onto Lucy's nose making her sneeze. Sniffling, Lucy shook her head and took a few steps away from the guild before she felt nauseous. The smell of the beer from before lingered in her nose despite the cold, fresh air outside. Beer wasn't frog skin and orange rind juice but at this point, it definitely sounded just as disgusting to the sick girl.

"Uggghhhh," Lucy grumbled irritably as she started to make her way home again as quick as she could. The guild behind her echoed chants of the other mages egging the two girls on inside.

"Feeling sick, are you?" Lucy turned around and saw Gazille leaning against the side of the guild's wall, smirking. He twirled a thin rod of metal nimbly between his fingers before popping it in his mouth. Lucy gave him a dead-panned look; she was in no humor to bully the iron dragonslayer.

"Yeah. I'm heading home."

Instead of offering words of sympathy, Gazille burst out laughing. "I bet it was that idiot, Natsu's fault, wasn't it?"

The blonde immediately perked up at the mention of her teammate's name. "What?"

"Everyone's been talking about it," Gazille walked toward Lucy and crossed his arms. "They say it's so sweet how Natsu's trying to be a mother."

Lucy bristled at the mocking tone of his voice. "They didn't say that. You're just making it up."

"Oh, am I? They said he took you home, tucked you in and even tried cooking," Gazille bent down to Lucy's level and ticked off the duties Natsu had attempted to do on his fingers. "He's quite the homemaker."

"Hey! You stop making fun of him, Gazille," Lucy scolded as she stared unflinchingly into his eyes. "He's doing the best he can."

"Really?" Gazille gave Lucy one look over. "'Cause it seems like you're not getting any better. He's failing pretty badly at being your nurse."

"THAT'S IT!" Lucy yelled and stamped her foot. She closed the distance between herself and the iron dragonslayer in one step. "You leave Natsu alone! I mean, what the hell is your problem, asshole?!"

Gazille, surprised by Lucy's temper, backed away from the girl but it was no use. He cowered under her rage and shrank even further as she stuck out an accusing finger and jabbed it at his chest. "You listen here, Gazille. You need to grow the fuck up and stop sticking your stupid iron nose into other people's business!"

Gazille backed into the door and tripped over the threshold, falling inside the guild where Lucy stood over him menacingly. Her cheeks were flush from either her rising fever or ferocious anger but it was hard to pinpoint, and Gazille found it terrifying to look anywhere else but her fiery brown eyes glaring down at him.

The guild had momentarily paused their cheering during Erza and Kana's battle to witness this new scuffle. But after seeing that it was Lucy taking on the almighty bully, Gazille, they erupted into wild roars again.

"GO ON, LUCY! STICK IT TO 'IM!!"

"YEAH, NOW HERE'S A MATCH THAT I WOULDN'T EXPECT! LESEE SOME ACTION, GUYS!"

"ARE YOU GUYS, CRAZY? WHAT IF LUCY GETS KILLED? I MEAN IT'S GAZILLE, FOR CRIPE'S SAKE!"

"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FAIRY TAIL STYLE, FIIIIIIIIGHT!!!"

Hearing the crowd's excitement, Gazille finally snapped to his senses and jumped back to his feet. He wouldn't be embarrassed by this tiny little harpy, no matter how shrill she was. He was just caught off guard is all. There was no way in hell that she could beat him.

Gazille smirked as he puffed out his chest and cracked his metal encased hands. "You want to fight that badly, bunny girl? Over something like that idiot of a dragonslayer?"

Lucy narrowed her eyes in defiance, feeling adrenaline course through her veins. "Yeah, that's right."

"Well then, bring out your stellar spirits and we'll get this party started."

Lucy reached for her keys but felt her fingers grasp at air. Remembering that she'd left them at home, Lucy tried to play it off cool by waving her hand as if dismissing Gazille's comment. "I don't need my keys to kick your sorry ass."

The crowd gave her the obliging 'ooohhhh' and backed away to give them space.

"Fine, this'll be even simpler." Gazille raised a hand to deliver the first blow.

"Wait, Gazille, you're really not going to..."

"Someone stop him!"

"JOKE'S OVER, GAZILLE! DON'T HURT LUCY!"

The anxiety of the guild rose and all of the previous fun was wiped away as the Fairy Tail mages froze, waiting to see if Gazille would really cross the line.

"Don't worry," Gazille smiled. "It's only gonna take a flick on the forehead to settle this." And he raised his fingers to Lucy's face.

The stellar spirit mage stood her ground bravely, staring down Gazille's iron-clad, bunched up fist headed straight for her.

Before Erza and Gray could even move to stop him, a hand shot out from behind Lucy and grabbed Gazille's coiled fingers. In the blink of an eye, the hand burst into flames and pushed Gazille flying back and crashing into a table.

Lucy's jaw dropped as she turned to her left and saw Natsu standing there eyeing the ex-Phantom mage dangerously. "What are you doing, Gazille?"

"Ooh, I like that tone, Salamander," Gazille mocked as he pushed himself free of the debris.

"I asked you what you were doing?" Natsu repeated himself and stepped a few paces in front of Lucy facing down his opponent. The fire around his right fist grew and Lucy could see the orange and red flames pulsate as if itching to burn its next victim.

"I was going to take on your patient, Nurse Natsu. But you interrupted just in time. Lucky you," Gazille then looked at the girl behind Natsu. "Or should I say, lucky Lucy."

That was the last straw for Natsu. A wall of fire surrounded the fire dragonslayer and he charged head first at Gazille. "SHE'S SICK, YOU BASTARD!!!"

Gazille merely stood his ground, put up a hand and gently flicked Natsu on the forehead. The act was so out of character that Natsu stumbled, stopped, and rubbed the spot.

Lucy and the rest of the guild facepalmed at the anti-climatic showdown of the dragonslayers.

"What the hell was that?" Natsu asked as he examined his finger for any blood. "Didn't even hurt..."

"That," Gazille waved dismissively, "Was what I was going to do to your girlfrien-!" He was cut short by yet another flick on the forehead- this time, it was from Natsu's end. Unfortunately for Gazille, Natsu hadn't held back so the force made Gazille's head snap backwards. "HEY, YOU IDIOT! THAT _HURT_!"

"Well, I didn't say it _wasn_'t going to hurt," Natsu retorted as yet another confrontation threatened to break out.

Lucy attempted to grab Natsu's scarf to pull him back, but it was too late. The two boys began to throw around more verbal warfare that quickly escalated to shooting fireballs and metal projectiles.

"Great," Lucy sighed as a fresh wave of fatigue hit her- she decided that she'd had enough excitement for one day. In fact, it was enough excitement for any normal day let alone one in which she was feeling particularly ill.

"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"

This time, it seemed all of Fairy Tail joined in the scuffle and Lucy ducked under an overturned table as a shield.

"Haa, sometimes, this guild is just too much," Lucy said fondly as she peeked out from behind the safety of the table. Watching the melee between her friends, she suddenly caught Natsu's gleaming eye as he stood near the perimeter of the scuffles. He grinned at her.

"Natsu, I-" Lucy started but he had already turned his attention back to the brawl and punched Gazille in the nose.

In doing so, Natsu missed Lucy's outstretched hand which was quickly pulled back.

"Yup, sometimes, it's just too much."

* * *

A/N: The cover of latest FT special makes my day. I like how I completely missed Happy being there until my friend pointed it out. My excuse...uh, blue makes him not stand out? lol

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! :)


	5. 100 degrees celsius

**Five: 100 degrees celsius**

* * *

The sunlight flooded through Lucy's window making her apartment warm and comforting.

Waking up to the birds chirping outside, our favorite stellar spirit mage bounded out of bed, refreshed, optimistic and most importantly, fit as a fiddle.

"Good morning, world!" Lucy greeted enthusiastically as she pushed aside her curtains and flung her windows open. The morning breeze blew through the apartment making Lucy feel twice as good. "Wow, what a beautiful day!"

Her dreaming eyes gazing far out into the blue skies above were suddenly brought back down to earth as an old woman called up to her, "Lucy, dear, being in love is one thing, but do you have to be so loud about it?"

"WHAT?!" Lucy gasped and covered her mouth. "What did you say, ma'am?"

The elderly lady looked up and smiled at the girl. "Oh honey, I might be old but I was once young and in love, too."

With that, Lucy fell back into her bed forgetting all about the pleasant morning.

* * *

After Lucy had finally dragged herself out of bed, she resolutely decided that she was still going to have a great day. Lucy took a nice long shower, took her time blow-drying her hair, and spent an hour picking out her outfit for the day. As she sat in front of her dressing mirror brushing her hair, Lucy smiled at her reflection.

"At least I still look somewhat decent," Lucy concluded as she pulled back her hair into her signature ponytail and searched for her ribbon.

"You're _always _cute."

Lucy froze and dropped her hair, the strands falling around her face. She stared back into the mirror, blinking rapidly as she saw her reflection waving to her.

"I'd go for the yellow ribbon today." Lucy brought up her hands and rubbed her eyes hoping that when she opened them, her reflection would turn back into normal. What she didn't expect to see was that it'd turn into Natsu.

Lucy's breath caught in her throat as the image of Natsu cocked his head to one side and said all too familiarly, "Aren't you going to finish doing your hair, Luce?"

The girl threw her hands up into the air. "WHY? _WHY _AM I GOING CRAZY?!"

"You're not going crazy," the reflection said wisely. "You're just in love."

"Aaaaaahhhh!" Lucy buried her head in her arms before peeking back up into the mirror. "First I see him in the smoke coming from my burnt pie, then I have dreams of kissing him and now I see him in my mirror?!"

"I guess so," Mirror-Natsu shrugged.

"I wasn't talking to you!" the girl cried and spun around in her chair, not wanting to look at the reflection of the boy she loved. She had to do something quick. Perhaps going to a psychiatrist would be helpful.

"You don't need to go to a psychiatrist, Lucy."

The blonde turned around, forgetting that she didn't want to talk to the mirror. "Really? And how would you know?"

"Because," Mirror-Natsu smiled knowingly. "I'm you. This is your heart speaking."

"Well, you've got the wrong number. I'm hanging up now!" Lucy snapped as she got up.

"Before you go, I want to say something to you," Lucy looked into Mirror-Natsu's eyes as she nodded for him to go on. "Just do your best."

"My best in what?"

"Telling him how you feel."

"Telling him how I feel?!" Lucy reiterated as she slumped back onto her chair. "How can I possibly do that?"

"You can. I know you can do it eventually. There's no rush."

"But what if he says-"

"There's no use in speculating, Luce. Just do it when you feel you're ready."

Lucy looked down into her jewelery box. "Right, like in a million years."

When she looked back up again, her own reflection stared back.

* * *

The day proved to be a hot one so Lucy picked a light summer dress to go traipsing around town in. After her rather interesting encounter with the various reflections of her mirror, Lucy decided not to go to the guild and spend the day shopping. Her spirits lifted being outside her apartment. She even went so far as to summon Plue to accompany her.

"Aaahhh, it feels so good to be outside!" Lucy hummed as she walked on top of the road's ledge, her heels clicking on the rocks.

"Puunn! Puunn!" The stellar spirit agreed.

"Be careful there, Lucy!" A man on one of the many fishing boats called to her from the river. Lucy nodded and waved back cheerfully.

"Alright, Plue. You ready to hit the town and go shopping?"

"Puunn!"

Lucy laughed and jumped off the ledge and crossed the town's bridge that led directly to the main plaza. Everywhere people went bustling about their daily activities. Lucy paid them little attention and headed straight into the first clothing store she saw like a veteran shopper.

After several visits to other stores, Lucy's arms were soon filled with bags and her heart was lighter than ever. Plue walked beside her feeling a little pooped but otherwise enjoying Lucy's splurge on clothes and seeing her so happy.

"Ooh, Plue! We have to stop here!" Lucy said suddenly as she eyed yet another store. "I know you're tired but this is the last one, okay?"

"Punn..."

"Don't worry, I'll treat you to some ice cream right after. I promise!"

"Puunn!!"

As Lucy and Plue walked through the front door, the saleslady immediately approached and offered her services.

"Ah, thank you but I'm just browsing."

"Alright, no problem!" the woman smiled. "I just want to let you know that the bras are buy one get one half off. Panties are thirty percent off and if you become a card member, all of your purchases will get an additional fifteen percent off."

"Thanks!" Lucy said automatically as the lady finished her selling spiel. The girl grabbed Plue and shuffled off to the sales area. "They always hound you with that kind of stuff, you know. You've gotta be strong and just learn how to refuse," Lucy whispered to Plue as if he understood the mechanics of buying and selling.

After half an hour, Lucy had a handful of underwear and a fluffy bathrobe. She made her way to the line in order to purchase the clothes when she passed by a mannequin sporting a particularly scandalous lingerie set. It was pink, bejeweled and quite ruffly in certain areas.

"Whoa."

"Exotic, isn't it?" the same saleslady said behind Lucy making her jump.

"Yeah, it is..."

"It's actually on sale, miss. Forty percent off since it's the summer sale. We're bringing in a new line for Fall."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, indeed-y. It's been our most popular lingerie set this season!" She examined the mannequin before reaching out and adjusting the bra strap a little to the right. "Hmmm...I believe it could do wonders in the bedroom, don't you?"

"...U-Uh-huh..." Lucy offered lamely as she scooted up in the line, hoping to put some distance between her and the saleslady.

"Some lucky guy would have quite some fun with his girlfriend in that number." Lucy blushed as she avoided eye contact with the woman. Apparently, it seemed that the lady was oblivious to the awkwardness of the topic. "Keeps things interesting, spicy! Perhaps even all night long!"

Poor Lucy shook her head as she tried to block out the woman's incessant chatter; but seeing as how Lucy's only human, her brain instinctively created an image of herself wearing some alluring nightwear and coyly beckoning a certain pink-haired dragonslayer to the bed.

"Next in line, please."

"I'M NEXT! I'M NEXT!" Lucy shouted as she rushed up to the cash register, not even noticing that she cut the two customers in front of her.

* * *

When Lucy and Plue finally got out of the shop, Lucy beelined for the nearest food stand, slammed some money down onto the counter and ordered a huge amount of ice cream. Then she grabbed all of her purchases, marched over to a small umbrella table for two looking out onto the river, and plopped down. She didn't even touch her ice cream.

"Puuunnn?"

The girl reached out and patted Plue on the head. "I'm alright. Just a little flustered is all. It's a really hot day, isn't it?"

Lucy then grabbed a spoon and began shoveling ridiculous amounts of ice cream into her mouth trying desperately to get rid of the image of her and Natsu engaging in some foreplay.

"Dammnn...brain freeze..." Lucy closed her eyes and grit her teeth as she felt her head grow numb-but not nearly numb enough to erase those dirty thoughts. "Stupid, stupid, stupid...Don't imagine things like that, Lucy!"

Plue had decided that Lucy was beyond his help so while Lucy sat there massaging her temples, he helped himself to some of the ice cream.

When the girl finally opened her eyes, she found Plue licking the spoon clean and sitting down with a huge bulging belly. Watching the stellar spirit be so utterly content finally made her laugh . She leaned back in her chair, letting the late summer air relax her nerves. What she needed more than anything was to just calm down.

As Lucy looked out to the sparkling river, she noticed some people swimming and lounging about by the shore.

"Wouldn't it be nice to be so carefree like that, Plue?" Lucy asked the tuckered out stellar spirit.

"Puunnn..." Plue managed before falling asleep letting the girl talk to herself dreamily.

"I'm so strung out lately I feel as though I'm going insane. I just want one day off to forget about everything. Forget about money and food and life," Lucy sighed deeply and rested her chin on a hand thoughtfully. "And especially him..."

Lucy trailed off as the words dried up on her tongue. She sat still as a statue as she spotted a particular figure coming out of the water.

Oh, no. No, no, no, no! It _couldn't _be! The girl tried her hardest to look elsewhere but she couldn't. Instead, she settled for crying out to fate that she'd wanted a day _off _from him, not to run _into _him!!

Lucy's eyes honed into every detail as if she were scrutinizing a picture of Natsu on a poster.

There was one Natsu Dragonil coming out of the glittering water and Lucy had tuned in just in time to see his body in all its masculine glory. Unfortunately (or fortunately, if you should choose), he was shirtless and Lucy's brain slowed down the entire scene, recorded it and had it on replay in the girl's mind for many days after.

Lucy's expression was one of immense shock since she asked herself the following series of questions when she saw him walk along the sand:

Had he _always _been that hot? That level of hotness? Seriously? How could she have missed it, seeing him shirtless countless times before?

Hell, he _always _had his six-pack showing! Maybe it was the water, yeah, that's it. The water. Glistening, emphasizing every toned muscle from his arms, to his chest, to his abs to his calves...

And why, _why _was he acting so casual as though it was just an everyday thing to look so devastatingly gorgeous?! Look at him running his hand through his messy wet locks of pink hair, laughing! Ha, laughing! Why was he laughing? There was nothing funny about how utterly amazing he looked. She was dead serious.

Oh wait, who was that he's laughing with? Oh, Gray? What the hell was Gray doing there?

In Lucy's mind, it just didn't make sense why Gray was there at all.

The image of Natsu was etched in her brain even when she finally managed to tear her eyes away. Beyond flustered, Lucy buried her head in her arms, trying to erase every detail of Natsu but it was futile.

"Hey there!"

Lucy clicked her tongue in annoyance. She really didn't want to start a conversation with anyone let alone look up from her misery, but she figured it'd be rather awkward if she just sat there. Finally lifting her head, she saw a guy standing next to her with a flirtatious smile on his face. The grin faltered a bit after he saw Lucy's scrunched up, suffering face.

"H-Hi, I see you're sitting alone," the guy still persevered, gaining more courage after Lucy rearranged her features to look more like a human being than a gaping fish. "Would you like to join me for lunch?"

"Sorry. I have company," Lucy said distractedly.

"You do?" He asked eyeing the empty chair across from Lucy.

"Yeah, it's his," Lucy pointed to the sleeping and drooling Plue sprawled out on the table.

"Really."

"Really!"

"Well, I think he wouldn't mind if I borrowed it for a bit." Before Lucy could object, the man sat down and put one arm back lazily on the chair. "I see you've been shopping," he indicated the many bags surrounding Lucy's chair.

"Obviously," Lucy said coldly as she pulled out Plue's key and issued a forced dismissal in case things should get ugly.

"Wow, you're a stellar spirit mage!" the man said excitedly. He saw the golden keys around Lucy's ring and smiled. "And a pretty great one at that."

"I'm late for an appointment," Lucy snapped and stood up. As she reached for her bags, the man took a hold of her wrist.

"Don't leave yet, sweetie. We were just getting to know each other."

Lucy narrowed her eyes before jerking her hand away. "No, I think we're done here. You're _way _out of your league, buddy."

The man raised his hands in fake surprise, "Ooh, maybe I am." Then he slammed his hands onto the tabletop, rattling the bowls and the umbrella above the table. "Or maybe I'm just the kind of guy that can handle your _type, _babe."

He dared to label her when he was the obvious macho-clueless asshole who treated women with no dignity?! Unforgivable! Lucy reached for one of her keys.

"OPEN, THE DOOR TO THE-"

"Door to what, honey?"

Both the man and Lucy froze and turned to look at the person who just spoke. Lucy, especially, found it hard to believe that someone just called her 'honey'. What was even more shocking for the girl was that the word came from Natsu's own mouth.

"Hey, you're in my spot, bub." Natsu said to the man and shoved his way across to sit at the vacant chair. "What're we having for lunch, Luce?"

The man was the first to recover. "Wait, hold up. Who're you?"

Natsu didn't falter. "Her boyfriend."

"What?!" Both the man and Lucy said in unison. But as both the guys looked at her, Lucy recovered instantly.

"Ho-How dare you say, boyfriend?" Lucy stammered and made her way over to stand next to Natsu. She laid a shaking hand on his bare shoulder. "You're my _fiance_."

"Fiance?!" This time, both the man and a clueless Natsu spoke together. As Lucy dug her nails into Natsu's shoulder, he winced before patting her hand, cuing her to ease off.

"Yes, honey. _Fiance_. Sorry."

"Fine, I can take a hint," the man huffed and put his hands in his pockets. "You're both such bad actors."

Lucy sighed in relief as he turned to walk away but found that Natsu had brushed her hand off. The dragonslayer marched after the man and much to Lucy's dismay, he tapped the guy on the shoulder. When the man turned around, Natsu took him by the collar threateningly.

"I may be a bad actor but believe me when I say I can kick your ass."

Both males glared at each other before the man conceded to Natsu's stare and promised to 'lay off' next time he saw Lucy.

Then, as if nothing had happened, Natsu walked back to the table and looked up at Lucy expectantly. "So, what's up?"

Lucy didn't answer but mechanically walked up the counter, bought the first thing on the menu she saw, and went back to the table. She was careful to look at the sandwich and fries on the plate instead of Natsu's toned chest as she slid the food over to him. "Here."

"Meat! Thanks!" He hungrily devoured the food as Lucy watched. She would never get tired of seeing him inhale his food as though it was magic. His unattractive speed-eating did somewhat make it easier for her to look at him without oogling.

"Hey, Natsu, where'd you learn the word 'honey'?" the girl asked as Natsu reached for a glass of water and chugged it.

"Oh, that's what Gray told me to say."

Right, Gray. He had been with Natsu. How could she forget? "Where is Gray?"

"He left ages ago."

"Why?"

"He said he was leaving anyway," Natsu said, shrugging indifferently. "We saw you with that guy and we were about to come help. But then he told me it'd be less of a hassle if it was just one of us."

"Really?"

"Yeah, and he told me to go get rid of that guy and call you 'honey'. He said that way we could avoid a fight and not rack up anymore debts," Natsu scoffed. "If it were me, I'd beat that guy into tomorrow."

"Ah, so it was Gray who thought up of that. No wonder..." Lucy chuckled as she watched Natsu pat his stomach happily. "I thought it was weird coming from _you_."

"What? Why?" Natsu fired immediately, offended that Lucy thought Gray was better at coming up with cover stories.

"Come on, Natsu!" Lucy sighed. "You didn't even know what the word 'fiance' was, huh?"

The dragonslayer conceded and stood up. "Alright, alright so I suck. You ready to go, Luce?"

"Yeah," Lucy nodded and got up herself. "And hey, thanks, Natsu." She hesitated before giving him a relatively normal smile for what seemed like the first in a long time.

"No problem," Natsu grinned back and reached for Lucy's bags. "I'll help ya carry these. Where to?"

"Well, let's stop by the guild. I bought something for Mirajane and Erza and I want to give it to them soon."

Natsu's eyes widened with excitement. "Ooh, what'd you buy them?! Is it food?"

Lucy grabbed a couple of bags herself not minding the boy whose limited interests included the dragon Igneel, beating people up and meat. "No, no. I bought-"

Lucy stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Natsu rifle through one of her bags and pulled out a pair of her new red panties. "What? This isn't food."

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!" Blood rushed to Lucy's face as she lunged for the panties and threw them back into the bag. Then she snatched it out of Natsu's hands and smacked him on the forehead. "You _idiot_! Of course that's not food! You're carrying _none _of my bags!"

The girl stomped ahead of Natsu, her face burning red for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.

"Hey, Luce, you're not getting another fever are you? You're really pink!" Natsu called as he hurried after her.

"NO! It's just a really hot day!"

* * *

A/N: Oracion Seis arc has come to a close! Can't wait to see what's in store next. Hopefully more NaLu ;)


	6. Of Lusting and Innocence part 1

**Six: Of Lusting and Innocence part 1**

* * *

"It's natural. It's estrogen. It's life. There's no crazy love involved here. It's simple raging attraction between a girl and a guy."

Lucy nodded in agreement with her reflection in her dressing mirror before correcting herself.

_Actually, it's just simple raging attraction...On my part_..._Pathetic._

After the incident at the river the other day, Lucy decided that she didn't have deep feelings for Natsu. She was just crushing. Crushing badly on a hot guy. How else could she explain those erotic daydreams and lustful feelings bubbling up inside her whenever she saw him. Now that she's labeled her feelings as a product of mere infatuation, the task at hand was clear.

"And the remedy will be...," Lucy jumped up from her seat, grabbed her newest, sweetest, juiciest lip gloss and dabbed it on. "Operation Steal a Kiss!"

The girl leaned forward to the mirror and smacked her lips together noting how nice, plump and shiny her lips were. Then she surveyed her new black dress and red strappy shoes and thought she looked right damn irresistible. Feeling her bubble vanity grow after several months of absence, Lucy felt like her old self again. She knew she was a bombshell and that men would drop dead around her like flies to a burning lamp.

"Wait a minute..." Lucy suddenly smacked a hand to her forehead while the smirk on her pretty face melted. She sank down to the carpet and threw her lip gloss back onto her dresser.

How could she forget?! These tricks would work on any _man, _yes. Natsu, however, was this weird breed of a boy with the immunity toward feminine sexuality like a brick wall.

Shaking her hips and flipping her golden hair over a shoulder while batting her long lashes would do nothing to excite the boy. He'd probably ask her what was wrong and if eating a sandwich with extra baloney would help.

* * *

"Hey, Lucy! It's good to see you back," Mirajane called and waved the girl over to the bar when Lucy finally summoned the courage to come to the guild.

"How's it going?" Lucy asked as she pulled herself up on a stool.

"Just fine, and thank you for the jasmine lotion," Mirajane smiled as she poured a cocktail and sliding it over. "I love it."

"No problem."

Mirajane, the ever watchful motherly figure of Fairy Tail, could pick up trouble in one look and she spotted Lucy's right away. "Boy troubles?"

Lucy, thinking that she'd been able to hide her romantic feelings from others very well up to this point, was flabbergasted. Therefore, she proceeded to spray the counter with her drink. "WHAT?!"

The older girl laughed as she whipped out a towel and began wiping the counter. "Lucy, it's pretty obvious."

"H-how?"

"Well, for one thing, your reaction just now confirmed everything I needed to know," Lucy hung her head in shame. "And two, you look so cute." Mirajane indicated Lucy's outfit that consisted of one oversized baggy sweatshirt and tattered, faded jeans.

"Aw, Mirajannneee, you're making me feel horrible!" Lucy whined pathetically. She reached behind, pulled up her hood and laced it tight over her face, hoping it could provide some sort of wall between her embarrassment from further leaking out into the world.

"Now only one question remains," Mirajane pondered thoughtfully with a finger on her chin. "Who is the lucky boy?"

"Eehhhh, you're a sadist, you know that?" Lucy mumbled from underneath her hood, her brown eyes glowering in the dark.

"MIRAJANE!" A voice suddenly boomed through the guild.

Lucy went rigid as she recognized the one and only source it could have come from- Lucy's own "lucky boy." She didn't move an inch and simply sat still, praying that Natsu wouldn't recognize her in the rags she wore.

"Yes, Natsu?" Mirajane called back. It was as if everything related to the fire mage became magnified in Lucy's mind so that she even picked out Natsu's footsteps coming up to the bar over the usual din. She felt him lean on the counter next to her.

"You haven't seen Lucy, have you?"

Here came the one time Lucy thought she could telepathically communicate with Mirajane and tell her, _scream _to her that Lucy was in the next town over, and that they had _not _just been talking about Lucy's boy troubles.

Unfortunately, Mirajane understood her thoughts all too clearly but decided to engage in some matchmaking instead. Judging by the girl's refusal to acknowledge her teammate, Mirajane was able to piece together Lucy's mysterious love puzzle and turn it to her advantage.

"Oh, yes, I have. As a matter of fact, Lucy's right next to you."

After hearing Mirajane loud and clear, the stellar spirit mage quickly had a note to self: Never attempt to telepathically communicate with Mirajane ever again. In fact, never normally communicate with her again. Period.

Natsu's predictable reaction soon came about. "_What_?! Lucy?!" When she still didn't move, Lucy felt her hood quickly pulled back, subsequently messing up what ever decent hairstyle she had. As her blushing face was revealed and her eyes met Natsu's quizzical stare, she had an overwhelming urge to hide back under her hood again.

Instead, she decided to play it cool-or as cool as she could manage. The blonde couldn't help but notice Mirajane's satisfied smile in the corner of her eye as the latter went about making drinks as if Lucy's predicament was great entertainment. Yes, that ex-class mage is clearly a sadist- Lucy wondered why she hadn't seen it before.

Lucy's thoughts were interrupted as Natsu honed into her personal bubble.

"What are you doing, Natsu?" the girl sputtered as she leaned away as far away as she could without toppling over the stool.

Natsu didn't answer her question but burst out laughing, "No wonder I couldn't find you! You kind of smell different."

"WHAT?!" Lucy didn't know how much more she embarrassment she could take in a day.

"No, no it's not bad, Luce," Natsu chuckled and sat down next to her. "You just don't smell all super flowery like you usually do. Kinda more of a softer soapy smell today." He nodded before taking another sniff in Lucy's direction.

"Will you cut that out?!" Lucy smacked an open hand into the boy's face and pushed his curious nose away from her. Although she had to admit, he was dead on. She had neglected to put on any perfume that morning after she'd lost her seductive gusto leaving her with a relatively normal vanilla soap scent.

"Oh, yeah! I've been looking all over for you!" Natsu said suddenly as he grabbed Lucy by the elbow and dragged her off the stool. "Let's go!"

"G-Go where?!" Lucy stammered while trying unsuccessfully to disengage herself from his grasp.

The dragonslayer turned back to face her with a quirked eyebrow. "Lucy, don't you remember?"

"Uhhh..."

"Fly-fishing of course!" the boy said excitedly and patted her on both shoulders as if she was a moron. "For Happy's birthday! Come on, just you and me! We'll catch a whole bunch and throw him a surprise dinner."

"Oh, right. Happy's birthday. How could I for-" the girl said before Natsu's words echoed in her mind.

_Just you and me, you and me, you and me, you and me. You. And. Me._

"Well then, time's a-wasting, slowpoke!" Natsu got behind her and began to march her out of the guild.

"Wait! Wait!" Lucy dug her heels into the wooden floor boards but the sneakers slid across uselessly. "I can't go, Natsu!"

"What?" Lucy felt his hands slide off her shoulders and didn't know whether to be happy or sad. "Why?"

"Be-Because..." The wheels turned fast inside Lucy's mind. "I'm sick."

"What? _Again_?!" Natsu groaned as did Lucy. She felt ashamed that she couldn't even come up with a better cover. Luckily, it escaped Natsu's notice.

"Yeah. See?" Lucy pointed to her blushing face. "Fever. Can't fake that, can I?"

"Well, you _do _look all red and stuff," Natsu admitted as he came up to her face.

And then there was his hand on her cheek. It was surprisingly soft for a guy who constantly got into scuffles. Lucy felt herself involuntarily lean against his cool hand.

"Whoa, Lucy!" Natsu yelled as he caught the girl who went weak-kneed by the arms. "You okay?"

Poor Lucy couldn't even answer as she slid out of Natsu's arms and planted herself in a chair, utterly mortified.

"She's fine!" Both Lucy and Natsu turned toward the bar to see Mirajane hold up a bottle of whiskey. "Natsu, don't worry. Lucy was sick but I gave her some medicine. It had some alcohol in it so that's why she's slightly pink...and tipsy."

"WHAT?!" Natsu and Lucy chorused. Lucy glared at the older girl, envious of her quick thinking and lying skills.

"So, she's fine to go, Natsu! Just take good care of her!" Mirajane waved at the two before disappearing to the back kitchen before Lucy could throw more dirty looks her way.

"Luce, don't worry," The blonde looked back at her smiling teammate, realizing she was out of options. "I'll look after you. I promise."

His words hung in the air as Lucy looked up into Natsu's excited face and followed him out to their fishing adventure.

But Lucy didn't feel like going fishing. Lucy felt like she was the fish herself. With Natsu's words, she was finished- hook, line and sinker.

* * *

A/N: I'd originally based the fly-fishing idea off of Hiro Mashima's omake in manga vol. 1. I haven't seen it online though...Anyways, I think the anime included the fly-fishing scene in one of the latest episodes if you guys haven't watched it yet--can't remember which because...ahem...I've not been keeping up. Truthfully, the anime's really not cutting it for me. BUT, I _will _start watching again once the Phantom Arc rolls around! Haha, you guys know why ;)

Happy Holidays, everyone! Stay warm and safe and try not to spend too much!


	7. Of Lusting and Innocence part 2

**Seven: Of Lusting and Innocence part 2  
**

* * *

As Natsu ran about the woods looking for the fishing place, Lucy lagged behind carrying all of the fishing equipment she said she needed. Despite Natsu's assurance that they could catch the flying fishes by their hands alone, Lucy paid him no mind and simply said that there was no way in hell she could be capable of doing that.

Walking behind Natsu gave Lucy a chance to mull things over. Her two words to sum it all up: Damn them!

Usually, Lucy got along great with Gray and Erza (who wouldn't with the latter?) but today, she felt like beating some sense into them. Where could they have gone, leaving Natsu and her alone together on Happy's birthday? How could they?

Then again, Lucy had a feeling that Mirajane had figured out Lucy's crush a long time ago and had planned the setup from the beginning. Gray and Erza just happily went along with her devious scheme; they probably enjoyed watching her pine for Natsu in the perpetual cycle of singledom.

But no matter. Lucy was on to a different plan by now. Technically, it wasn't a different plan, it was her _original _plan:

OPERATION STEAL A KISS

Preoccupied with her inner maniacal chuckle, Lucy didn't notice where she was stepping and felt her foot sink into a crevice in the rocks. The girl went toppling over. "OUCH!"

Natsu turned around to see his teammate sprawled on the forest ground and laughed before walking back and squatting before her. "Graceful, Luce." He offered a hand that was quickly batted away.

"Oh, shut up!" Lucy got up quickly and brushed herself off. "Let's just find this fishing area, quick."

"No need. We're here!" Natsu trotted over to a big tree, reached up and pulled back a leafy branch.

Lucy shielded her eyes against the sun's glare but gasped as the view beyond the foliage was revealed. They stood on a rocky cliff where a rushing river ran below. The fish were literally flying like birds all around the cliff. From the water, up the ledge to where the two mages stood, and to the sky, the fish darted about, moving their fins and sailing through the air.

"Wow..." Lucy whispered in delight, letting the image carry her away.

The girl was blissfully absorbed in her fanciful thoughts until Natsu sprang like a dog into the air, and snatched about six fish right in midleap. "WOHOOOO! CHECK THIS OUT, LUCY! I CAUGHT A WHOLE BUNCH OF 'EM!" The boy was airborne for a split second before he began falling.

"Natsu! Look out!" Lucy cried as gravity pulled Natsu down right over the ledge of the cliff and out of sight. "NATSU!! NATSU!! HEY!!!"

Scrambling over to the edge, Lucy prepared herself to see his tiny body falling further and further down until he splashed into the water, dead on impact. Her heart skipped a beat when she grabbed a hold of a rock before her and leaned over, looking down.

"HEEEEEEEEEYYYYYY...?!" Lucy almost fell back out of surprise of seeing Natsu's face a mere three feet from her own.

"Hey yourself," he said as he grinned up at Lucy. He'd managed to hang onto the cliff with his left hand while holding onto his catch with his right.

"You _idiot_!" Lucy yelled, feeling her breath return to normal. "You scared me half to death!"

"Open your basket, will ya?" Natsu asked, completely oblivious to Lucy's pale face. "We've gotta get these into the basket or they'll fly away."

Lucy wanted to reach down and give him a good thrashing for being so reckless but she couldn't reach. Instead, she irritably grabbed a wicker basket that she'd brought along and opened the lid.

"Great!" Natsu gave one throw and the bundle of fish shot into the basket. Lucy closed the lid and set it down on the ground with much more force than necessary.

"Great."

Lucy was pretty confident that Natsu could climb up the ledge by himself but thought she'd offer him some help anyway. Besides, this was an opportunity to snatch his lips and make it seem like an accident. Or so Lucy foolishly thought.

She reached down to the dragonslayer with an outstretched hand. "Natsu, let me help you."

But Natsu hadn't heard her. He had given two quick fire blasts from his palms that gave him enough force to propel his body upwards and outwards. He twisted his body around in the air and landed neatly back on the top next to Lucy.

It was a rather awkward moment that followed as Natsu stood coolly adjusting his scarf while watching a frozen Lucy on the ground. "Uh, Luce, what're you doing?" Natsu asked the girl who hadn't moved a muscle.

"Stretching."

* * *

Three hours later found Lucy sitting on a quivering basket full of flying fish looking bored. Natsu, on the other hand, ran around sticking his fiery tongue out at the flying fish.

"Hey, Natsu. I think we have enough!" Lucy called to the boy. A particularly strong fish managed to stick its head out from underneath the lid and almost shot out before Lucy shifted her weight. "Come on! Help me keep these things inside the basket!"

"Alright, alright!" Natsu called back and bounded towards her. "Let's take a break, Lucy."

"Break?" Lucy scoffed. "I've been on a break for the past two hours! _You're_ the one that's been jumping around all day."

Natsu laughed and pumped his arms in the air triumphantly. "Aw, don't be like that. I can't help it if you suck at fishing."

"Well, excuse me for being a normal human being, Mr. Dragonslayer."

"Well, normal human being or dragonslayer," Natsu said before digging in one of Lucy's many packs. "We're all gonna need some _food_!" He pulled out another basket full of the packed lunch Lucy had thrown together before they'd left.

Lucy got her share and only managed to take hold of a sandwich in her hand before looking over to see Natsu had already finished half his portion. "Do you even chew your food, Natsu?"

The boy turned to her with his cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk. "Wha?"

Lucy sighed as he continued stuffing his face, getting crumbs all over the place.

Wait, crumbs. Crumbs of opportunity! Lucy's eyes glittered mischievously as she eyed the unsuspecting Natsu.

Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, Lucy slowly reached out and laid her left hand on Natsu's shoulder. "Hey..."

"Eghhh??" Natsu managed.

"You've got something...," Lucy said slowly, bringing up her right hand to his cheek. "Right here..." She traced her fingertips along his cheekbone down to his chin, completely forgetting how ridiculous he looked. As Lucy leaned in, she closed her eyes and prayed that she wouldn't miss his lips.

Now was her chance to just go for it! If she didn't seize this moment and just get the kiss over with, she'd have to pine for him..._forever_.

And a forever without so much as a memory of kiss to help kill the time was just a little too hard to bear.

But suddenly, she stopped.

There it was!

That familiar touch was on her cheek again. Lucy opened her eyes and found Natsu's hand cupping her face.

"Lucy."

Her heart leapt to her throat. "Hmm?"

"You've got something on your face too."

"Eh?"

"Here, lemme get it," Natsu said and then Lucy felt a slight tap on her cheek. "Oops! I kinda squished it. It was a bug."

And just like that, his hand was gone and Lucy felt like someone had just knocked the wind out of her and threw her to the ground.

"Here," Natsu said cheerily as he held out a napkin. "You'd better clean that off, it's smeared all over your face."

* * *

As the sun was saying its last farewells in the early evening, the two mages of Fairy Tail got ready to head back into town.

Actually, it was just Lucy gathering her belongings. Natsu was leaned back against the trunk of a particularly enormous tree sound asleep.

Lucy went to and fro, packing in the fishing rods, nets, blankets, flashlights and other camping necessities she'd overpacked while seething dangerously. "How dare that idiot kill a bug on my face?!"

Lucy had rubbed her cheek raw after Natsu had offered her the napkin and then avoided him like the plague ever since. She'd had just about enough of his shenanigans and wanted to go home and be rid of him for the next few days.

After packing all of her equipment, Lucy shouldered her backpack and walked over to the snoring boy. Natsu was sprawled out on the ground without a care in the world as if mocking her.

Lucy was envious; she wanted peace, she wanted rest, she wanted relaxation, but she couldn't! Why? All because of this carefree boy. Oh, the cruel irony. Usually, she'd be able to find some sort of humor in that but at the moment, she was exhausted. Natsu suddenly gave a particularly loud snore making Lucy play with idea of clanging two metal pots together by his ear.

As her eyes roamed to his innocent sleeping face however, she felt her anger slowly melt away like it always does. How could she stay mad at Natsu when he did everything so earnestly and innocently?

Lucy sighed deeply and sat down next to him, deciding that she'd let him sleep for a couple more minutes. It seemed like fishing with his bare hands all day took a toll on the tough Salamander.

"You silly little...," Lucy whispered as she reached over and ran her fingertips through the messy pink strands of hair around his face. Knowing full well what she was about to do, Lucy surprisingly felt no hesitation whatsoever and leaned in for a kiss.

She closed her eyes and then felt her lips brush his skin very lightly. Lucy wasn't even sure if she'd made contact but as she pulled away and opened her eyes, she saw a little trace of her lip gloss on Natsu's forehead.

The giddiness settled in as Lucy smiled happily. "That'll do."

She reached out and tentatively ran her fingers softly over his skin to wipe away the mark, erasing any trace of her ever being there.

But before she could finish, Lucy froze with her hand still in midair. She could feel her backpack shaking. Was it her? Couldn't be...

"PAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!"

Something suddenly shot out of Lucy's pack and flew straight into the air. Lucy jumped back so fast, she banged her head against the tree trunk. "Ow! Wha??"

As Lucy focused her eyes and locked onto the flying figure in the sky, her jaw dropped. "HAPPY?!!"

The blue cat replied all too bouncily, "AYE!"

"What are you doing here?!" Lucy yelled back, immediately wondering if Happy heard or saw any of the intimacy that happened just moments before.

"I'M HAVING A FEAST TONIGHT!" Happy called back and then darted after a flying fish.

"Wait, Happy! We're going to make you dinner when we get back!"

"But I'm hungry _now_!" Happy pawed the fish playfully before it slipped away from his paws. "I'd have come out sooner but I fell asleep!"

Lucy groaned. "How'd you get to be so much like Natsu, eh Happy?"

"Ionoo!!" Happy answered, his mouth stuffed full of the fish.

The girl shook her head before shaking Natsu on the shoulder. "Hey, Natsu, wake up! Happy's here. We should head home before that crazy cat eats all of the fish out of the sky."

But the dragonslayer remained asleep and completely oblivious to Lucy.

"HEY, NATSU! WAKE UP, YOU BUM!" Lucy yelled next to his ear but to no avail. All she got was a grunt in response.

"ACK, RUSHIII-HALP!! ALP!!"

"Now what?" The stellar spirit mage glanced up into the sky just in time to see the blue cat's wings disappear. Happy seemed suspended in midair for a few moments before plummeting downwards. Lucy thought she saw Happy clutching his throat. "Don't tell me..."

"AAAGGGGGGGGHHH!!" Happy's hoarse croak resounded through the cliff.

"He's choking!!" Lucy cried as she heard the cat splash into the river below. "He's choking! Happy's choking!" The girl rushed over the edge and saw Happy flailing about in the rapids below. She then turned straight around and started running down the hill where the cliff eased into the woods and lower lands.

"NATSU!! WAKE UP!! HAPPY NEEDS US!!!" Lucy yelled over her shoulder as she jumped over a log. She prayed that the boy could hear her but she couldn't wait for him- Happy needed her now.

Running downhill was tiring when there were so many obstacles. Lucy panted as she made her way over a jagged rock and climbed over a mossy tree stump. Finally, she saw the bank that led to the river. Ducking under a branch, Lucy pushed aside the overgrown bushes and stumbled onto the riverbank at last.

"HAPPY!! HAPPY, WHERE ARE YOU?!" Lucy called desperately, looking about for a flash of blue. "There!" She saw a pair of blue ears go under water.

Kicking off her shoes, Lucy dove into the icy cold water and kicked as hard as she could, propelling her body toward where she thought Happy was. The rapids had thankfully died down and the river wasn't so violent as before. Nevertheless, Lucy had a hard time navigating through the natural debris on the bottom of the river.

Happy was in arm's distance at last and Lucy reached out blindly, hoping to grabbed his long tail. Yes! Her hands closed over the furry tip and she pulled his limp body safely into her arms. Lucy held onto the cat and swam toward the surface, her lungs burning for air. Finally, she felt her head break the surface of the water.

She took her time wading to the shore, feeling what little strength left in her limbs slowly ebb away. When she reached the rocky bank at last, Lucy dragged herself and Happy into the shelter of some reeds and collapsed.

"You," Lucy managed to the unconscious feline. "You need to _chew _your food!!" With that, Lucy pried open the cat's mouth, reached in and extracted the flying fish that was, miraculously, still alive. It fluttered into the air and dizzily flew away.

Feeling the cat breathe normally once more, Lucy laid down beside Happy and felt sleep pull her eyes shut.

* * *

Lucy felt way too warm for being so cold a moment before. She stirred and blinked, gathering in the scene before her. It was nighttime and the stars glittered over head.

"I tell ya, Happy. That's how you do it!"

"No! I've read this in a book before. It's after they're unconscious. Not while they're sleeping!"

"Sleeping!"

"Not breathing, Natsu!"

"Well then, how can you tell?!"

"You listen to their chest!"

"Urrrgghh..." Lucy groaned as she sat up. She saw Natsu and Happy arguing heatedly next to a campfire very near her. The girl raised a hand to rub her eyes and realized she was wrapped in Natsu's scarf. "Whazzz goin' on?"

"Lucy!" Natsu yelled happily and scooted over to her. "See, Happy? I told you it'd work!"

"Eh?" Lucy clumsily unwrapped the scarf from her neck. "Happy, you're okay!" She sighed in relief as the blue cat bounded into her lap.

"LUCY! YOU SAVED ME!"

"Yeah, well," Lucy said sheepishly. "I can't let you die in such an uncool way, you know."

"Waah!" Happy buried his little head into Lucy's arms. "Natsu was saying you could have died!"

"You really could have." Natsu folded his arms and nodded grimly.

"What?" Lucy cried indignantly. "I got out of the water fine. Sure, when I was swimming it was dangerous but I made it out okay. I was just asleep."

"_Asleep_?!" Natsu gasped dramatically as if it was a huge ordeal. "That's the worst part!"

Lucy was taken aback. "Wha- how so?!"

The dragonslayer moved in closer as if ready to divulge a terrible secret. "Don't you know, Lucy?"

"Know what?" Lucy snapped, not seeing what everyone was so worked up about.

"If you just come out of the water and fall asleep, you would die. Right away!"

"What? That's ridic-"

"No, it's not!" Natsu nodded emphatically. "That's why I just saved your life. Did some of that CPR."

Lucy sat stock still. "Y-You did CPR."

"Yup."

"On me."

"Uh-huh."

"Because you thought I'd breathed too much water into my lungs."

At this, Happy peeked out from under Lucy's arms. "See, Natsu? You only do CPR if they're not breathing. Lucy was fine- she was just asleep. She must have only been too tired to wake up. Gosh, going on about Lucy dying..." Then, the poor cat started crying again.

"Really? Is that true, Luce?"

The girl snapped out of her stupor. "Y-Yeah."

"Awww, damnit. And here I thought I was doing it right and everything. Tch!" Natsu clicked his tongue and crossed his arms angrily but dismissed it about a moment later. "Well, whatever. Important thing is, you're both okay! Great job, Lucy! You're a hero!" He smiled widely and clapped Lucy on the shoulder.

"Hey, guys, can we stay out here tonight?" Happy asked as he finally stopped the waterworks. "You know, as a birthday present?"

"Yeah!" Natsu shot up in the air. "Lucy's packed a bunch of stuff and it's a nice night. We've got food and everything. Let's do it!"

While the boy and the cat went about the campfire whooping and setting up camp, Lucy sat staring at the fire, still holding his scarf in her hands. As the flames danced in her eyes, she absentmindedly reached up and touched her lips.

"Oh wow, a shooting star!" Happy cried as he pointed up into the night sky.

Lucy glanced upwards and indeed saw a small streak of light in the sky. It'd been many years since she'd made a wish on one but for that night, she made one as well as gave thanks.

She did so for three reasons. She gave thanks because Happy was safe and sound and was going to live through his birthday to see another day. She also gave thanks that she was alive and well.

Lucy sighed as she looked back down at the soft, white dragon-scaled scarf in her hands and came to a conclusion: she wasn't just crushing. Being infatuated was silly and could go away in a moment's time. Being in love was far different and although it came with more headaches than anyone would ever want, it was infinitely better.

Looking at Natsu across the fire, Lucy caught his eye and grin. She smiled back and fondly rolled her eyes before looking away and repeated the wish in her head:

_Next time we kiss, please, please let me be awake! _

* * *

"Where'd you learn CPR anyway, Natsu?" Lucy asked as the party trekked back up the hill the next day.

"You know, I can't remember," Natsu admitted as he turned around, heaving the backpack on his back to one side. He'd taken it from Lucy, insisting that she didn't know how to handle the flying fish in the basket and would let the meat be bruised. "But, I can tell you I'd heard about _when _to do CPR from Igneel."

"Well, that sounds about right..." Lucy muttered.

"That might only apply to dragons, Natsu," Happy commented as he landed on Natsu's pack, giving his wings a rest.

"True..."

"But I've gotta say, your technique was right on!" Happy chirped.

"Really? I did it right?"

"Well it looked about right to me!"

"Ummm," Lucy started as she ventured to find out any details about how Natsu heroically performed CPR on her. "W-What did it feel like, N-Natsu?"

Lucy thought it was a valid question. After all, the two dunderheads were much too dense to figure out any motive behind her seemingly innocent question.

The dragonslayer paused thoughtfully as he recalled. "You know it felt like..."

Lucy hung onto his every word.

"It felt like I was a doctor!" Natsu yelled, pumping a fist into the air. "Yeah, I felt awesome! Like I was going to save a life and everything!"

Lucy's anticipation took a nose dive and then quite suddenly disappeared as it was replaced by disappointment. "Of course, Natsu. My hero."

* * *

A/N: I don't think Natsu did chest compressions. Otherwise, Lucy'd probably have woken up to what she thought was sexual harassment! =P

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! This chapter will be my last present to all of you lovely readers and reviewers in 2009. Hahaha, more updates in 2010! Have a Happy/Fantastic/Awesome New Year everyone! :)


	8. Green Eyed Girl

**Eight: Green-Eyed Girl  
**

* * *

Features (listed objectively):

Height: 5'4

Weight: 120 lbs.

Hair color: Brunette

Eye color: Gray

Occupation: Sorcerer Magazine Reporter

Sex: Female

Same features listed (according to Lucy Heartphilia):

Height: Too short

Weight: Too skinny

Hair color: Dyed!

Eye color: Contacts!

Occupation: Annoying busybody

Sex: Flippant tease of a woman-child

Remember the fire dancer way back in chapter one? Remember how jealous Lucy got?

Well, take that situation and multiply it by ten.

Our little stellar spirit mage sat at the bar of Fairy Tail looking positively livid. Her negativity was especially prominent since everyone else around her was excited and talking about the latest reporter who was sent to the guild for yet another interview session.

"No way, no way!" An unfamiliar female voice was heard in the corner and Lucy's sensitive ears picked up on it right away. "You were able to eat the Etherion and survive? Crazy! I've never heard of such a thing!"

"Etherion was nasty but it sure did give me the power I needed to wipe out Gerard."

"You were able to take out Gerard, one of the councilors?! Amazing! Absolutely incredible!" Lucy bristled at the girl's praise.

The abandoned buttered roll in Lucy's hand was subsequently smashed into a pancake while the melted butter oozed over her fingers.

"Lucy?"

The blonde quickly turned to her left and saw Erza take a seat next to her. "Hey, Erza! How's it going? Have you been interviewed yet? Do you want something to drink?" Lucy fired off a list of questions so as to divert the attention away from herself before Erza could even begin talking. Naturally, this only put Lucy on the spotlight all the more but the older girl was sympathetic and played along.

"No, not yet," Erza replied and called to Mirajane for a slice of marionberry pie. "She's only interviewed Natsu so far."

"Yeah...," Lucy grumbled irritably and threw the flat roll onto her plate and pushed it away. "It was a scheduled interview for _all _of Fairy Tail. Not just _one _of its mages."

Erza suppressed a smile seeing Lucy's obvious attempt at playing it cool-which was failing badly.

"I mean look at her," Lucy indicated the reporter squealing about Natsu who looked like he missed his personal space. "She's all over him like he's some kind of rockstar or something. Disgusting."

"I think she'll get around to interviewing others eventually. The master wants this interview to go off as smoothly as possible to bolster Fairy Tail's reputation so we're trying to be patient," Erza shrugged before taking a spoonful of her dessert. "She also mentioned she wanted to talk to you especially, Lucy."

The girl only scoffed and tried to block out the incessant shrill laughter of the brunette. "Talk with me? I know what she'll ask," Lucy then imitated the girl in a mocking voice, "Okay, Lucy! What kind of magic do you use? Really, stellar spirit magic? _Absolutely incredible_! And what do you look for in a guy? Like, really?! Like, WOW!!"

This time, Erza couldn't help but laugh. "Lucy, you're not...jealous, are you?"

"W-What?! Me?!" Lucy stammered as a slight blush marked her cheeks. "You've got to be joking! What in the world is there to be jealous of?"

"Oh, I don't know...," Erza sighed, not intimidated by Lucy's accusing glare in the least bit. "Perhaps you're jealous that she's not interviewing you first."

"Please, I'm not that petty."

"Or that Natsu's the star of Fairy Tail to her."

"As if. Come on, Erza. I'm not jealous at all! Nope, not me. No siree." Lucy shook her head emphatically while wiping her hands clean of the butter on a napkin.

"So I guess this means you don't mind that reporter clinging to Natsu either, right?"

"I-" Lucy was about to retort but involuntarily bit her tongue. She saw Erza smile at her so innocently that it reeked of mischievousness. "I couldn't care less what happens between them."

"Oh, really?"

"Really. Now can we please talk about something else?"

Just then, the reporter's laugh sounded right behind them making the girls look around. Lucy's eyebrows furrowed so deeply, they almost went vertical. The girl had latched onto Natsu's arm and bounced along with the boy with each step he took. Natsu looked mighty uncomfortable and stood next to Arzack hoping to rope him into the conversation and get the reporter off his back.

Unfortunately, Lucy missed this act having immediately turned around on her stool and ordered a 'sweet chickenchop burger salad'.

Mirajane gave her a puzzled look and decided to give her a drink instead.

"I think a burger-salad is kind of contradictory, don't you think, Lucy?" Gray chuckled as he took a seat on Lucy's other side.

"Well, so is drinking hot tea when you're half naked!" Lucy snapped as Gray shivered and reached for a steaming mug while clad only in his pants.

"Ooh, touchy today, aren't we?"

"Gray, leave Lucy alone. The girl is troubled," Erza scolded making the ice alchemist spill a bit of his scalding tea onto his chest.

"R-Right! Sorry Lucy, didn't mean to tease you. But anyway," Gray leaned in to the girls and spoke seriously. "What's with that reporter girl and Natsu?"

"Gray!" Erza said exasperatedly while Lucy slapped a hand to her forehead.

To top it all off, the reporter decided to come over to the gang. Natsu, thankfully for Lucy, had managed to elude the girl.

"Well, well! Here are Natsu's friends!" she said excitedly and whipped out her pen and paper. "Erza the Titania, Gray, the Ice Alchemist and Lucy the..." She gave Lucy a quick look and noticed her keys. "Spirit Mage!"

"That's _stellar _spirit mage, you little-"

"Where _is _Natsu, by the way?" Erza interjected as Gray clamped a hand over Lucy's mouth.

"Oh, you know, I haven't got a clue!" She shielded her eyes and looked about the guild but could not find the dragonslayer. "He seems to have disappeared."

"From _you_," Lucy mumbled under her breath.

"You know, I'm pretty sure our people has interviewed both you and Gray multiple times already," the girl said to Erza while checking her notes.

"Yes, I believe so," Erza agreed while remembering an interview with them only weeks before. She really didn't want to engage in one again and repeat the same old answers. A look at Gray told her he felt the same way.

"Goody then!" the reporter chirped and then honed in on the sulking Lucy. "I guess I can settle for interviewing you today. 'In depth with Lucy Heartphilia: From Ex-Heiress to Fairy Tail Mage'! What do you think?"

Lucy's hazel eyes narrowed dangerously. "I think you should go stick your a-"

"OH, NATSU!" the girl cut Lucy off as the former spotted the boy making his way out of the guild. Gray had to reign Lucy back to her stool to prevent her from leaping up in anger.

"Remember, Lucy. We're trying to get them to write positively about us," Gray whispered. "The master and our guild really needs more people to send out requests these days!"

"I know we haven't done a main article on you yet, Lucy, but I _really _want to focus on Natsu!" the brunette admitted as she managed to somehow drag Natsu back to the bar.

"Or how about you do a dual cover?" Mirajane suggested from behind the counter. "A feature with both Lucy and Natsu. What do you think?"

"I've got it!" The reporter started scribbling madly on her notepad. "How about a focus on love? Not between you two, of course," she added hastily glancing up at Natsu and Lucy. "I mean like what do you look for in a romantic partner, types, attributes, power...that type of stuff."

"Wha?" Everyone in the vicinity was a little confused. What was the point of promoting love with Fairy Tail? What about advertising their strengths with the do-all-fix-all type of attitude?

Natsu looked the most lost out of everyone.

"Uhh, I don't really wan-"

"Natsu!" the girl slinked up to the boy closely and tapped him on the arm with her pen. "I find you as the type who wants a strong girl as your girlfriend. Gorgeous, powerful, fierce in battle and can take you in a round, am I right?"

"Wel-"

"Yes, yes! I definitely see it. Your type is most definitely not the cutesy kind of girl with no power whatsoever. You know what I'm talking about...those weak, fragile type girls who always need the hero to come rushing in."

"I-"

"Here, an example!" the reporter exclaimed and took Lucy's arm. "Basically, you want an Erza kind of girl, not Lucy!"

The whole group fixed their gaze on the blonde.

After an awkward pause, Lucy brushed off the girl's hand. "That's right. He wants someone who can kick his ass anytime, anywhere." Lucy smiled stiffly, got off her stool and headed toward the exit.

"Wait! Lucy! I haven't gotten what type of guys you'd want to date!"

Lucy turned around and yelled quite loudly for the whole guild to hear, "I'M A-FUCKING-SEXUAL! HOW ABOUT _THAT _FOR YOUR MAGAZINE!!"

Everyone then watched as Lucy stormed out of the guild, letting the front doors shut behind her with a bang.

* * *

"So, what'll it be, miss?"

"Anything and make it a big one."

"Alrighty! Ma, I need a Bun-pup and a Fifty-five for the little lady!"

"OKAY, OKAY, QUIT YOUR HOLLERIN'! I HEARD IT, I HEARD IT!"

Lucy winced at hearing the old lady in the kitchen call back.

"Thanks...," Lucy managed and sat down at a table. She saw some used newspapers in front of her and glanced through the headlines.

GUILDS IN NEED OF REQUESTS, MAGES SHORT ON JOBS, REWARD AMOUNTS DWINDLE...

The depressing words stared back at the girl and she flipped over the newspaper, not wanting to read anything more. Underneath the messy pile of newspaper was a magazine. Lucy pulled it out and stared at Sorcerer Magazine's familiar cover of her, Natsu, Erza and Gray with the caption: FAIRY TAIL'S STRONGEST TEAM.

Even this cover that was once Lucy's pride and joy could not make her smile. She hastily shoved it under the newspaper.

"Do you happen to have any of the recent magazines, sir?" Lucy asked the old man as he came up to her table with the food.

"You know what, we sure do. Only one copy though. I get it from my friend's for a little light reading." He went back behind the counter, grabbed it and gave it to Lucy.

Unfortunately, it was an even older edition of Sorcerer Magazine dating back about a year- around the time Lucy first joined Fairy Tail. The girl was about to point it out to the old man but he was already walking away smiling and cleaning up another table. Thinking that she could reminisce about the good old days where things were a little less complicated, Lucy took it in her hands and stared at the cover.

As it turned out, Natsu's glaring face stared back at her.

"Eh?" Lucy read the caption, "Fairy Tail's Salamander Returns: Behind the Six-Month Search for Dragons..." Lucy flipped open the magazine and rifled through the pages to the part that covered Natsu's story. Her eyes scanned the article and landed on a short Q and A section:

Reporter: So, Natsu, how does it feel to be back at Fairy Tail after such a long absence?

Natsu: It's good to be back home. The food's a lot better, I'll tell you that.

Reporter: I hear Mirajane is quite the cook after all. If it were me, I'd never leave the guild.

Natsu: Us mages have to take on jobs sooner or later. Going on trips is a blast! Never get tired of it.

Reporter: Can you tell us about your latest trip? Six months is a long time to be gone. I'm sure you've seen some outrageous things on your travels. Can you give us some details?

Natsu: Let's see, I went to a whole lot of places and met a whole lot of people that I wasn't looking for. I couldn't find Igneel anywhere.

Reporter: Igneel, that's the infamous Fire Dragon, right?

Natsu: You betcha! I know he's still out there and no matter what anyone says, I'm going to find him! Someday, for sure, I will find him.

Reporter: Good luck with that, Natsu. I'm sure it'll be quite an adventure.

Natsu: I'm always up for an adventure [chuckles]. This time wasn't so bad even though I didn't find Igneel. I met this guy trying to impersonate me. That was interesting.

Reporter: Oh yes, I heard about him. He was going under the alias "Salamander" and kidnapping girls, right?

Natsu: Yup, what an idiot.

Reporter: But you did put him in his place.

Natsu: Nothing feels like beating the crap outta guys who makes a bad image of Fairy Tail.

Reporter: That's what all of the readers like to hear: a mage who's loyal to his guild.

Natsu: Right. Oh, and I did meet a new friend. She's a mage too and I took her back to Fairy Tail with me.

Reporter: I haven't heard of this. What's her name?

Natsu: Uh...you know I can't remember right now...Louie? Luigi?

Reporter: That's all right, I'm sure we'll hear about her soon. But for now, can you tell us what kind of magic she uses?

Natsu: Something with keys and stuff. Very weird. I haven't seen that kind of magic before. Seems pretty cool though.

Reporter: That sure was a nice thing you did, Natsu. It's been awhile since Fairy Tail's gotten a new addition. I'm looking forward to hearing more exciting news about your guild.

Natsu: You bet! Fairy Tail is the best guild out there!

Reporter: Well, thank you so much for your time. I'm sure your fans will appreciate hearing some news from you.

Natsu: No problem.

Lucy's eyes then roamed to a glaring hot pink heart splashed on the corner of the page. It read:

**Salamander's Hot Love? Do you think you can handle a fiery relationship with the dragonslayer of Fairy Tail?**

_This bachelor is one of the strongest mages of the guild and is quite the bad boy. He enjoys food, fights and adventures so all of you ladies out there, be prepared. Natsu Dragonil is still available but perhaps not for long!!!_

"Ugh!" Lucy slammed the magazine shut and took it back up to the counter. "Here you are sir, thank you."

The old man took the magazine from Lucy and peered at the cover through his thick glasses. "Oh yes, that Natsu boy. Quite popular with the ladies, believe it or not. Even the old woman's got a soft spot for him."

"Really?"

"That it is," He shook his old gray head slowly. "And how about you? Another fan of this Salamander fellow, too?"

Lucy coughed, trying to disguise her indignant gasp. "I-I'm actually not a fan of Natsu. He's a little too wild for my taste. I hear he can get pretty crazy on those jobs- blowing things up here and there. Never a moment of peace."

"Miss?" the old man said seriously, turning his gaze on Lucy. His scrutinizing eyes peered over his glasses.

"Y-Yes?" Lucy replied feeling nervous all of the sudden. Did this old man know that she's lying about not being a fan of Natsu's? Could he in fact, be aware that she's completely head over heels in love with the boy?

The old man pointed and said, "I believe that your food is being eaten by some pink-haired hooligan."

Lucy followed his wrinkled, gnarly finger back to her table where the subject of their conversation sat, eating her Bun-pup.

"Natsu! What the hell are you doing?"

The boy looked up guiltily at his friend who stomped over to the table with her hands on her hips. "I was so hungry, Luce!"

"Do you have no self-control whatsoever?!" Lucy barked as she sat down across from him and threw him a napkin.

"Sorry! Sorry! It's just I haven't been to the guild all day and that's where I usually eat."

The girl eyed him suspiciously. "Wait, what? You were just there about half an hour ago! I saw you with my own eyes!"

Natsu only laughed merrily and replied, "Oh, that was Macau."

"Macau?!"

"Yeah," Natsu saw the Sorcerer Magazine poking out from underneath the newspapers and pulled it up. "You see, I was so sick of doing those stupid interview things that I just wanted to escape. I asked Macau to transform into me. I guess it worked!"

Lucy couldn't help but feel somewhat better as she heard his explanation. Nonetheless, she carried on the conversation coldly. "Well, lucky you, Natsu. That reporter would have given you a pretty big headache if you had been there."

"Why?"

"I don't know," Lucy lied in an attempt to look cool. "She was just a big fan."

"So?"

"So what?"

"So what's the problem?"

"The _problem _was that she was all over you like...well, I meant Macau! She was all over _Macau_!" Lucy recovered lamely and avoided eye contact with Natsu.

When he didn't reply, Lucy decided to sneak a peek back to the dragonslayer to find a curious little smirk on his face. "Ohhh."

"Ohhh, what?"

Natsu's eyes crinkled in amusement. "Were you jealous?"

"What?! No way!" Lucy cried defensively. "Why in the name of the Stellar Spirit King would I be, in any possible way, jealous? Dream on, buddy."

"This reporter was a girl, right?" Natsu suddenly asked.

"Y-Yeah..."

"And she was all over me?"

"Did I stutter the first time?! I mean if that's what you wanna call it, then fine."

"I know why you're jealous," Natsu said in a serious tone that made Lucy turn her full attention to him. She suddenly sat rigid in her seat as he leaned forward towards her.

"You-you do?"

"Yeah," Lucy balled up her fists tightly underneath the table so that her nails dug into her palms. He knew! He knew! He knew! Oh, crap, he knew! "You're just jealous because you want a _guy _to hang all over _you_."

"..."

A few seconds passed before Lucy stood up, grabbed the pile of newspaper and threw it over Natsu's head as viciously as possible. Unfortunately, the dramatic effect was ruined when Natsu peered out from underneath with the print draped around his head like a cloth. "Luce, you're funny."

"Well, you're an _idiot_!"

"There's nothing to be jealous about!"

"Easy for you to say."

"Really!" Natsu pulled the newspapers off his head and grinned widely. "Why do you think I let Macau take my place? I don't need that stuff. This is so much better."

"What's better, you dolt?" Lucy snapped irritably as she grabbed her purse and was about to make her way towards the door.

"Hanging out with you."

"Wha-?"

The girl turned back to the dragonslayer who still sat there smiling innocently, unaware of anything going on about him. In spite of herself, Lucy found her anger appeased but she wasn't about to let Natsu know.

"Don't even try to get on my good side."

"Don't have to. I always am, aren't I?"

This smart remark earned Natsu and throbbing bump on the head even though it was entirely true.

* * *

A/N: It's been awhile, guys! Life's getting pretty busy but I'm still getting spurts of NaLu inspiration--especially in the latest arc. Loads of improvement from the previous one and the best part? Lucy gets some limelight!! Although she could get overshadowed by her other badass self... oh, the irony.

But yes, lots of blushing and hugs and hints. Me. Likey.


End file.
